Gary Hart
Hart Acres is a small farm located south of Tacoma, WA. My name is Gary Hart and I grew up in this area when it was primarily rural, went off to Seattle for 30+ years, and returned to the area in 1995.
In
1998 we started looking for some grazing animals, mostly as an excuse to avoid
mowing the pastures. I grew up with
cows and horses, and knew that cows would be the “best” solution for this
farm. I had seen a few Highlands
around and after visiting some farms and doing some breed research, I decided
that their truly unique characteristics fit our situation perfectly. The
distinctive visual appearance and my theory that it doesn’t cost any more to
feed a cute cow than a homely one made the Highland decision pretty easy. The
breed’s reputation as a browser and fact that there were some berries and
brush on the place helped make was a bonus to the Highland choice.
We
initially purchased four bred Highland cows as a start in 1998.
As a result of the Highland breed’s addictive nature, the Hart Acres
fold has since grown to number in the teens.
We recently added a proven herd sire with a wonderful pedigree and some
great replacement heifers, to supplement some of our nice original cows.
The
Highland breed has exceeded my expectations.
They have personality beyond what I had experienced with the “other”
breeds, they are very easy keepers, they have done a fine job on controlling the
brush, and they have proven to be outstanding mothers.
They have also been a lot of fun and the other breeders we have met help
make this a very enjoyable venture. It
has been very satisfying selling animals to a number of individuals just getting
started with the breed.
The
focus for Hart Acres has been improving the quality of our
“herd” with the
end goal of 6-7 superb brood cows and an outstanding bull and we’ve made some
great strides towards that goal. We’d
love to be in the position that Hart Acres stock is a preferred choice for
breeders in the Northwest. You
can contact Hart Acres at hartacres@hotmail.com
or (253) 537-3316.
Feel
free to stop by and check out the critters.
There’s always something for sale.
We are members of the following associations:
NWHCA ~ The Northwest Highland
Cattle Association
AHCA ~ The
American Highland Cattle Association
